A Sweet Memory
by WhiteTeaLeaf
Summary: Team 7 has just gotten back from a mission. But something seems wrong... Dedicated to Hatake Kakashi :D    Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. They belong to Kishimoto Masashi.


Hi guys! This is the first story I'm uploading and I spent 2 hours doing this. Please comment or give me advice on how to improve my writing!

Beads of sweat rolled down his cheek as Kakashi trudged home miserably. He had just completed a mission during which he had to battle 5 genins, 8 chunnins and 12 jounins with his team. Miraculously, all of them survived with only a few scratches but Naruto was already whining like crazy. "Hey sensei!" the orange-haired ninja yelled. "When are we getting back to the village? It's like a freaking desert in here!" "Soon, Naruto, soon," Kakashi barely had the energy to reply and felt his temper rise due to the heat but managed to control himself by counting the number of steps he took. but Naruto just kept on complaining and complaining and Kakashi was just about to explode...

...When Sakura finally lost her temper as well. "SHUT UP NARUTO!" she roared. "WE'RE ALL SWEATING LIKE RHINOS HERE, SO THE LAST THING WE NEED IS YOUR STUPID WHINING!" Naruto slammed his mouth shut. After all, he knew better than anyone how scary Sakura was when she was angry. They continued the rest of the journey in blissful silence, where the hyperactive ninja didn't dare to utter a single sound.

After 15 minutes, they finally reached the village where Hiruzen Sarutobi greeted them with a warm smile. "Well done Team 7," the third Hokage beamed. "You have successfully completed your mission. You can go back for some rest now." Gratefully, the three genins and the silver-haired jounin disbanded, each going back to their respective homes.

"Whew!" Kakashi landed on his bed with a loud thump during which the ancient mattress springs creaked and groaned under his weight, threatening to break at any moment. Lying on his back, Kakashi stared at the ceiling, wondering what was this feeling of uneasiness in his stomach. "Did I forget to do something?" he wondered aloud. "But what did I forget?" Pondering, Kakashi started to play back what he did over the last twenty-four hours, but nothing came up except gruesome scenes of him and his team fighting ninjas. Giving up, Kakashi turned over and decided to close his eyes for a little nap. Just one tiny little nap...

Kakashi awoke to the sound of a sparrow chirping. Rubbing his right eye, Kakashi yawned. 'Hmmm? What does Hokage-sama want now?' he thought grumpily, slightly grouchy from being awakened from his restful sleep. 'Anyway, I better go immediately, it could be an emergency.' His ninja instinct kicking in at once, Kakashi grabbed his flak jacket and put it on before heading out the door.

"Hokage-sama?" The door creaked as Kakashi opened it, but no one was there. "Huh," Kakashi scratched his head absentmindedly, still a little bleary from sleep. "Must have been a mistake. Oh well, might as well go home and catch up on my sleeping!" Just as he was about to close the door, a shadow darted quickly from his left and pinned the silver-haired jounin's arms behind his back. "Don't move or I'll kill you," a low voice growled. Even though it was dark in the hokage's room, Kakashi could still sense the sharp point of a kunai glistening dangerously at his throat. It was obvious that his attacker had the advantage since he was unarmed and he could barely use any jutsus thanks to the huge amount of chakra he was forced to use during the mission. Damn, he'll just have to play it safe. "Who are you? And what do you want?" Kakashi asked cautiously. "What?" the assassin gave a throaty laugh. "Did you really forget?" "Forget what?" The words slipped out of Kakashi's mouth before he realised what he was asking. "Don't tell me you really _did_forget," the attacker's voice had gone as cold as ice. "Uh..." Kakashi could feel beads of sweat rolling down his back. "Actually, I did. I have no idea what you're talking about." "Really," the voice was now emptied of emotion. "If that's the case, then..." The kunai inched closer and closer to his throat. Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that he will die quickly and painlessly. 'Hey Obito,' he thought silently. 'Guess what? I'm gonna join you soon...'

"SURPRISE KAKASHI SENSEI!" "Huh?" Kakashi's eyes popped open and he looked around him in amazement as bits of stringy confetti floated everywhere. Sakura, Naruto and even Sasuke was beaming at him, their faces shining in excitement. "What's happening?" Kakashi felt more and more confused by the second, especially when he saw Naruto dressed up in black clothes. "Geez! I can't believe you actually forgot about today!" Sakura feigned annoyance as she flicked her long pink hair over her shoulder, but even an idiot could see that she was literally glowing with anticipation. "Forgot what?" Kakashi asked, so confused that his head kept spinning from left to right. "It's your BIRTHDAY Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled in disbelief. "How could you forget that?" "Birthday?" Kakashi's mind immediately went back to how suspicious he was when the hokage had welcomed them back to the village personally. 'No wonder Hokage-sama did that!' he thought. 'It was my birthday!' "Guess the memory of even the great Copy Ninja Kakashi fails him in old age," Sasuke said sarcastically, but there was the unmistakeable warmth of happiness in his voice. "We decided to lure you here by using the sparrow which the hokage gave us permission to use, and Naruto was supposed to act as the assassin so you'll be surprised and even if you killed him no one will be sad anyway," Sakura ranted while Naruto gave an indignant squawk at her last few words. "Even Hokage-sama was in on this?" Kakashi looked in shock at the hokage, who by now was trying to slink away. "Uh...uh..." the hokage stammered, scratching his cheek with his index finger awkwardly. "Well, you see, I thought it would be a nice way to welcome you back to the village like this, especially after such a tiring mission, so I just planned a little surprise." "Right! Enough talking! Come on Kakashi sensei! It's time to open your presents! Here, open this one first!" Sakura yelled, shoving a huge pile of beautifully wrapped birthday gifts into Kakashi's arms. "Uh okay," Though he was still a little stunned, a warm bubble of happiness fizzed up inside the silver-haired jounin and he eagerly unwrapped the presents. He unwrapped them slowly and carefully so as to not ruin the gorgeous wrapping paper, fully aware of the fact that the genins had probably taken many hours painstakingly wrapping those gifts.

The first present he opened was Naruto's. Inside was a voucher for free ramen for a whole year. "Yeah, well, it was the only thing I had, so I decided to give it to you," Naruto said gruffly, turning away in embarrassment. Kakashi smiled and patted Naruto gently on the head. "Thanks Naruto," he said, touched. Even though he knew that for many people it was useless, it meant all the world to Naruto and for him to give it up must be as painful as breaking all his bones. Naruto, though startled, gave a broad grin and hugged Kakashi so tightly he could barely breathe, but Kakashi didn't mind.

The next present was given to him by Sasuke. It was a box full of glinting kunais and shurikens. "So you won't get killed next time you meet a stronger ninja," the raven-haired boy said grouchily, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Kakashi was shocked, but in a pleasant way. He knew that although he could buy millions of these weapons if he wanted, Sasuke had probably worked his head off to buy this for him. Like he did with Naruto, Kakashi smiled gently and patted Sasuke on the back. Sasuke was surprised and somehow happy, and he tried to hide it but it was pretty obvious from the dopey beam on his face.

The last present was by Sakura. "Hmmm?" Kakashi said. "This is the first time I've received a birthday present from a girl. I wonder what is it?" Untying the ribbon, Kakashi slowly lifted the lid from the box...

... And was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. "Wha...wha...what?" Coughing, he wiped his watery eyes and saw Sakura smiling devilishly. "HAHAHAHAHA I CAUGHT YOU KAKASHI SENSEI!" Sakura laughed evilly. "Now I'll know what your face looks like!" But the pink-haired girl's joy soon turned to disappointment as she saw what was under Kakashi's mask. "Huh? It's another mask?" Sakura cried out in dismay. "So I went to buy a bomb all for nothing?" Sympathetically, Kakashi patted his student on the shoulder. "Don't worry Sakura," he said comfortingly. "So far nobody has managed to see what my face looks like yet!" Smiling, he walked away, leaving the genin fuming madly.

"IT'S TIME FOR CAKE!" Naruto yelled, already slicing the cake into pieces. "Here you go Kakashi sensei!" he said, pushing a plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it to the silver-haired jounin. "Why thank you Naruto!" Kakashi slid his mask down the bridge of his nose slowly, taking his time. The genins all peeled their eyes and stared intensely at Kakashi, wanting to know what his face looks like. Any moment now, any moment! The mask was almost exposing his nose...

...When Genma flung open the door. "Bad news!" he yelled, panicked. "There's an urgent mission right now and Team 7's the only available team!" "What? NO WAY!" The three genins chorused, mouths dropping open in disbelief as Kakashi quickly slid his mask up his face again. "Alright team, let's go!" "But...but Kakashi sensei, the cake..." Sakura stammered hopefully in a last-ditch attempt to see Kakashi's face. "There's no time for that! Hurry up and get your things, I'll meet you at the gate in ten minutes!" Saying so, a cloud of smoke enveloped Kakashi and he 'poofed' away back home to get his stuff. "AWWW! NO WAY!" Naruto cried in dismay. "Pfft, told you it wouldn't work," Sasuke said, but there was a trace of disappointment in his voice. "Dammit! Kakashi sensei, THIS ISN'T OVER!" screamed Sakura in frustration, clenching her fists in determination. As the three voices merged together and echoed around the village, Kakashi smiled. 'Hey Obito,' he said silently. 'Maybe being a sensei isn't so bad after all...'

Please comment on how I should improve my writing! Thank you!


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